Document object model API for MIME

ABSTRACT

The claimed subject matter provides systems and/or methods that facilitate interpreting Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) data. An interface can obtain MIME data. For instance, a stream of MIME data can be obtained, MIME data can be loaded from a static file, etc. Moreover, any disparate type of RFC 822 data can additionally or alternatively be received by the interface. Also, a MIME reader can analyze the MIME data (and/or normalized RFC 822 data) to interpret encoded structural information and generate at least one primitive based on the encoded structural information. Further, a hierarchical model can be built utilizing the at least one primitive.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/526,790 filed on Jun. 19, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,549,088 issuedOct. 1, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/278,882 filed Apr. 6, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,214,439 issuedJul. 3, 2012, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 60/742,667 filed on Dec. 6, 2005, and entitled DOCUMENT OBJECTMODEL API FOR MIME. The entirety of the aforementioned application isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Technological advances in computer hardware, software and networkinghave lead to efficient, cost effective computing systems (e.g., desktopcomputers, laptops, handhelds, cell phones, servers, . . . ) that cancommunicate with each other from essentially anywhere in the world inorder to exchange information. These systems continue to evolve intomore reliable, robust and user-friendly systems. As a consequence, moreand more industries and users are purchasing computers and utilizingthem as viable electronic alternatives for communicating with disparateusers at remote locations, gathering information (e.g., from disparateusers), retaining information, etc.

Recently, email usage has grown in popularity as a common manner bywhich users communicate with each other. Email allows for composing,sending, and receiving electronic communications. Transmission of emailacross the Internet, for instance, can be in accordance with the SimpleMail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), which is a text-based protocol where oneor more recipients of a message can be specified and the message can betransferred. The email message can be formatted according to thestandard described in RFC 822 (and/or RFC 2822). Messages definedpursuant to RFC 822 (and/or RFC 2822) typically include two sections.The first section relates to headers that can comprise a messagesummary, sender, receiver, and other information concerning the email.For instance, headers can include a name and a value defined pursuant tothe syntax specified by RFC 822 (and/or 2822). The second section can beassociated with a body, which can be the message itself. RFC 822 (and/orRFC 2822) commonly relates to simple text email written in 7-bitUS-ASCII. For example, the headers can be simple text strings such asthe subject of the email, structured composite headers such as arecipient list, well defined headers, and arbitrary headers.

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an extension to RFC 822(and RFC 2822) that can support transferring additional kinds ofinformation in email. For instance, MIME can support nesting andrelational representations of multiple payloads (e.g., a body with anumber of attachments). Additionally, MIME can provide multiplecharacter set support, content language annotation, content transferencoding schemes and an increased number of well defined headers andassociated meanings. MIME enables these additional functionalities whilestill being considered a valid RFC 822 (and/or 2822) payload.

As noted above, MIME can be employed in connection with emailcommunication. MIME can also be leveraged for various other purposes.For instance, MIME can be employed in connection with form submissionsfor web based browsers. Thus, MIME can enable packaging responses forHyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) form submissions when providing(e.g., posting) information to a web site. Additionally, MIME can beutilized as a format for storage of content (e.g., a document that canbe created via utilizing a word processing application and can be storedin a web format). As such, usage of MIME is becoming more prevalent;however, viewing and/or editing MIME content is difficult utilizingconventional techniques.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects described herein. This summary is not anextensive overview of the claimed subject matter. It is intended toneither identify key or critical elements of the claimed subject matternor delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present someconcepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

The claimed subject matter relates to systems and/or methods thatfacilitate interpreting Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)data. The MIME data can be streamed and/or can be loaded from a staticfile that includes the MIME data. According to various aspects, aprogramming API can be provided which can be a foundation upon whichmore advanced functionality can be built. Additionally, the systemsand/or methods can provide for handling of various boundary conditionsand/or deviations from the RFC standards (e.g., RFC 822, RFC 2822, . . .).

According to various features of the claimed subject matter, structuralinformation encoded within the MIME data can be interpreted and ahierarchical model of the document can be generated. The model (e.g.,document object model) can be accessed concurrently with the analysis ofthe MIME data and/or subsequent to such analysis. Thus, advantages canbe provided over conventional techniques due to the ability to controlthe analysis of the MIME data (e.g., restrict downloading of an emailupon a determination of the email being spam or including a virus, . . .). It is to be appreciated that a model of the MIME data need not beproduced and/or outputted. Rather, external functionality can review thecontent of the MIME data and apply higher level functionality.

Pursuant to one or more aspects of the claimed subject matter, a MIMEreader can analyze encoded structural aspects related to RFC 822 dataand/or MIME data and yield corresponding primitive(s). By way ofillustration, the MIME data can be related to email messages, responsesfor HTTP form submissions, documents saved in a web format, etc.According to an example, obtained RFC 822 data can be converted into anormalized MIME form. Moreover, a MIME writer can complement the MIMEreader and generate MIME data from base primitives (e.g., textprimitives such as a string, binary primitives such as a byte streamobject or byte array, . . . ).

In accordance with various aspects of the claimed subject matter, a MIMEdocument object instance can be accessed and/or manipulated pursuant toa document object model. The document object model can provide variousclasses that can enable building the MIME document (e.g., by indicatingnodes that can be located under disparate nodes, . . . ), navigating astructure of the MIME document, and/or adding, modifying and/or deletingelements or content within the MIME document. For example, the classesassociated with the document object model can provide for transferring,encoding, decoding, etc. of content within the MIME document objectinstance.

The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detailcertain illustrative aspects of the claimed subject matter. Theseaspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways inwhich the principles of such matter may be employed and the claimedsubject matter is intended to include all such aspects and theirequivalents. Other advantages and novel features will become apparentfrom the following detailed description when considered in conjunctionwith the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system thatfacilitates interpreting Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)data.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system thatfacilitates normalizing disparate forms of RFC 822 data.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system that enablesinterpreting and/or authoring MIME data.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system that supportsobtaining a stream of MIME data and/or loading a static file of MIMEdata.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system that enablesconverting data to and/or from Unicode.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system that generatesa hierarchical model associated with MIME data.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary document object instance.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system that isresistant to flaws or inconsistencies in MIME data.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system that enablesevaluating MIME data as it is being pushed at an interface.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system thataccumulates information associated with MIME data.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system thatfacilitates interpreting, manipulating, and/or authoring MIME data.

FIGS. 12-15 illustrate exemplary class diagrams in accordance withvarious aspects described herein.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary methodology that facilitatesinterpreting Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) data.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary methodology that facilitatesnormalizing RFC 822 data and/or generating a hierarchical document basedupon a document object model.

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary networking environment, wherein thenovel aspects of the claimed subject matter can be employed.

FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary operating environment that can beemployed in accordance with the claimed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The claimed subject matter is described with reference to the drawings,wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elementsthroughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the subject innovation. It may be evident, however,that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shownin block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the subjectinnovation.

As utilized herein, terms “component,” “system,” “interface,”“evaluator,” “generator,” “reader,” “writer,” and the like are intendedto refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, software (e.g.,in execution), and/or firmware. For example, a component can be aprocess running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, aprogram, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an applicationrunning on a server and the server can be a component. One or morecomponents can reside within a process and a component can be localizedon one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers.

Furthermore, the claimed subject matter may be implemented as a method,apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computerreadable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storagedevices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, . . . ), opticaldisks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), . . . ),smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive, . .. ). Additionally it should be appreciated that a carrier wave can beemployed to carry computer-readable electronic data such as those usedin transmitting and receiving electronic mail or in accessing a networksuch as the Internet or a local area network (LAN). Of course, thoseskilled in the art will recognize many modifications may be made to thisconfiguration without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimedsubject matter. Moreover, the word “exemplary” is used herein to meanserving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or designdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs.

Now turning to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 thatfacilitates interpreting Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)data. The system 100 can include an interface 102 that obtains RFC 822data and/or MIME data. For instance, a stream of RFC 822 data and/orMIME data can be provided to the interface 102. Additionally oralternatively, the interface 102 can facilitate loading a static filecomprising RFC 822 data and/or MIME data into memory; thereafter, theloaded data can be further processed as described below. The interface102 can support RFC 822 data and/or MIME data that can be pushed at theinterface 102 and/or the interface 102 can facilitate pulling the RFC822 data and/or MIME data from a source. The RFC 822 data and/or MIMEdata obtained via the interface 102 can be provided to a MIME reader104.

The RFC 822 data and/or MIME data obtained by the interface 102 can bereceived from any source. For example, the interface 102 can receive theRFC 822 data and/or MIME data from a server such as an email server, aweb server, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the interface 102 canobtain the RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data from a client (e.g.,personal computer, PDA, cell phone, anti-virus application, spamapplication, . . . ). Further, the interface 102 can obtain the RFC 822data and/or MIME data from a data store (not shown). The data store canbe, for example, either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or caninclude both volatile and nonvolatile memory. By way of illustration,and not limitation, nonvolatile memory can include read only memory(ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory.Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM), which acts asexternal cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM isavailable in many forms such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhancedSDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), Rambus direct RAM (RDRAM),direct Rambus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and Rambus dynamic RAM (RDRAM). Thedata store of the subject systems and methods is intended to comprise,without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.In addition, it is to be appreciated that the data store can be aserver, a database, a hard drive, and the like.

Moreover, the interface 102 (as well as the MIME reader 104) can beemployed by a server and/or a client. Although the interface 102 isdepicted as being separate from the MIME reader 104, it is contemplatedthat the MIME reader 104 can include the interface 102 or a portionthereof. Also, the interface 102 can provide various adapters,connectors, channels, communication paths, etc. to enable interactionwith the MIME reader 104.

The RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data can be provided by the interface102 to the MIME reader 104. The MIME reader 104 can include an encodedstructure evaluator 106 that analyzes structural information associatedwith the RFC 822 data and/or MIME data. By way of example, the encodedstructure evaluator 106 can parse the RFC 822 data and/or the MIME dataobtained by way of the interface 102. Additionally, the MIME reader 104can include a primitive generation component 108 that can createprimitive(s) corresponding to the structural information identified bythe encoded structure evaluator 106; these primitive(s) can thereafterbe outputted via the interface 102. Further, although not shown, it isto be appreciated that the MIME primitive(s) can additionally oralternatively be output by the MIME reader 104. For instance, theprimitive(s) can be text primitive(s) such as string(s), binaryprimitive(s) such as byte stream object(s) and/or byte array(s), etc.

According to another aspect, the primitive(s) generated via the MIMEreader 104 can be utilized to generate a hierarchical model associatedwith the MIME data. For example, the primitive(s) produced by the MIMEreader 104 can be outputted utilizing the interface 102 (and/or by theMIME reader 104), and an external component (not shown) can employ theprimitive(s) to create a hierarchical model of the MIME data. Thus,additional functionality can be built upon the output provided by theMIME reader 104. Pursuant to another example, a hierarchical model ofthe MIME data can be generated from the primitive(s) obtained via theMIME reader 104 and thereafter the hierarchical model (e.g., documentobject model) can be provided as an output via the interface 102. It isto be appreciated that the MIME reader 104 can generate primitive(s) asa stream of RFC 822 data and/or MIME data is being evaluated.Additionally or alternatively, the MIME reader 104 can provideprimitive(s) corresponding to a static file of RFC 822 data and/or MIMEdata or a portion thereof. For instance, as the static file of RFC 822data and/or MIME data is evaluated, the primitive(s) corresponding tothe portion of the data already analyzed via the MIME reader 104 can bemade available (e.g., outputted via the interface 102 and/or the MIMEreader 104, able to be navigated and/or manipulated, . . . ).

The MIME reader 104 can facilitate providing a uniform interpretation ofthe RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data. The MIME reader 104 (and/or theencoded structure evaluator 106) can provide flexibility associated withparsing the RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data. Additionally, the MIMEreader 104 can support scanning RFC 822 data and/or MIME data with orwithout yielding a hierarchical model (e.g., document object model) ofthe data.

The encoded structure evaluator 106 can identify structural informationincluded within the RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data. For instance, theencoded structure evaluator 106 can identify a header, a body, a startof a child, a subject, an attachment, and the like. Pursuant to anexample, the RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data can include a headername, a delimiter (e.g., colon) and a string of characters. A line breakcan be inserted in the value section and continued on the next line byinserting a whitespace character (e.g., tab or space). The encodedstructure evaluator 106 can identify that a header is comprised withinthe RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data as well as determine a name of theparticular header and/or a value associated with the header. Theprimitive generation component 108 can employ the information providedby the encoded structure evaluator 106 to produce primitive(s)corresponding to the RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data. Accordingly, theprimitive generation component 108 enables the content to be viewed(e.g., during streaming of the RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data, duringevaluation of the RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data, subsequent toevaluation, . . . ). Further, as the primitive generation component 108provides an associated output, additional functionality (e.g., internaland/or external) can be built upon that output. For example, theprimitive generation component 108 can yield an output related to lowlevel primitives, which can be assembled into a more logical form (e.g.,hierarchical model) and/or held in memory by a component (not shown)external to the MIME reader 104.

It is to be appreciated that the MIME data can be any data formattedaccording to the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) standard.For instance, the MIME data can be related to email messages (e.g., in atextual format that can be serialized over SMTP), responses for HTTPform submissions, documents saved in a web format, etc. MIME can be anextension to RFC 822; accordingly, the resultant MIME data can beformatted in such a manner as to be considered a valid RFC 822 payload.Additionally, most email currently flowing over SMTP can be valid RFC822 content with MIME providing a highest fidelity. By way of example,an extension supported by MIME relates to globalization. Whereas RFC 822can be associated with 7-bit US-ASCII, MIME enables use of additionalcharacters. Thus, a name that could only be viewed in English utilizingRFC 822 can be seen in Hungarian, Chinese, or any disparate language viaemploying MIME. Moreover, it is contemplated that RFC 822 data can beobtained (e.g., by the interface 102) and analyzed (e.g., by the MIMEreader 104, the encoded structure evaluator 106, and/or the primitivegeneration component 108, . . . ) to yield primitive(s).

With reference to FIG. 2, illustrated is a system 200 that facilitatesnormalizing disparate forms of RFC 822 data. The system 200 can includethe interface 102, the MIME reader 104, the encoded structure evaluator106 and/or the primitive generation component 108 as described above.Further, the system 200 includes a normalization component 202 thatinterprets and converts RFC 822 data with differing formats into anormalized form of MIME data.

By way of illustration, the interface 102 can receive RFC 822 data(e.g., by obtaining a stream of data, loading a static file, . . . ).The data received by the interface 102 can be in a form that complieswith RFC 822, yet is outside the scope of the MIME format. For instance,the RFC 822 data can include inline attachments and/or any archaic formof attachments. The RFC 822 data can be provided to the normalizationcomponent 202. Additionally, the normalization component 202 can alterthe RFC 822 data into a format consistent with MIME. For example, thenormalization component 202 can enable modifying a structure, content,syntax, and the like associated with the received RFC 822 data; however,the claimed subject matter is not so limited. The altered RFC 822 datayielded by the normalization component 202 can be provided to the MIMEreader 104, which can generate corresponding primitive(s) by employingthe encoded structure evaluator 106 and/or the primitive generationcomponent 108. Further, although not shown, it is to be appreciated thatthe MIME reader 104 can include the normalization component 202 or aportion thereof. Moreover, it is contemplated that the normalizationcomponent 202 can be utilized in connection with any of the systemsdescribed herein; for instance, RFC 822 data can be obtained (inaddition to or instead of MIME data) and/or converted by employing thenormalization component 202.

Turning to FIG. 3, illustrated is a system 300 that enables interpretingand/or authoring MIME data. The system 300 includes the MIME reader 104and a MIME writer 302. The MIME reader 104 evaluates RFC 822 data and/orMIME data and can generate corresponding primitive(s). By way ofillustration, the MIME reader 104 can employ a normalization component(not shown) (e.g., the normalization component 202 of FIG. 2, . . . ) toconvert RFC 822 data into a MIME related form; however, the claimedsubject matter is not so limited. The MIME writer 302 can becomplementary to the MIME reader 104 and can facilitate creating validcontent (e.g., MIME data).

Pursuant to an example, the MIME reader 104 can interpret structureencoded in the RFC 822 data and/or the MIME data and provideprimitive(s). As the MIME reader 104 evaluates the RFC 822 data and/orthe MIME data, the resultant output can be made available for viewingand/or altering. Additional functionality can be built upon the MIMEreader 104. By way of example, functionality can be provided thatgenerates a hierarchical model of the RFC 822 data and/or the MIME datautilizing the output provided by the MIME reader 104. Additionally oralternatively, further functionality can be provided by a disparatecomponent (not shown) that employs the output yielded by the MIME reader104; thus, the MIME reader 104 can provide a low level output which canbe employed by a caller of the MIME reader 104.

It is to be appreciated that the MIME reader 104 can support bothloading an entire static file associated with RFC 822 data and/or MIMEdata into memory and/or loading only a portion of the RFC 822 dataand/or the MIME data at a time, thereafter removing that portion andloading a disparate portion of the data. The MIME reader 104 (and/or theMIME writer 302) can enable reading and writing sequentially; thus, theneed to load an entire static file into memory can be mitigated.Additionally or alternatively, the MIME reader 104 can support loadingan entire file related to RFC 822 data and/or MIME data into memory andthereafter manipulating and/or evaluating the data.

The MIME writer 302 can utilize the primitive(s) to generate MIME data.Thus, pursuant to an example, a portion of a hierarchical object modelcan be modified (e.g., via employing external and/or internalfunctionality built upon the output yielded by the MIME reader 104, . .. ). The MIME writer 302 can effectuate altering the MIME data tocorrespond to the changes made to the hierarchical object model.According to a further illustration, the MIME reader 104 can evaluateRFC 822 data and yield primitive(s) by converting the RFC 822 data intovalid MIME content. Thereafter, the MIME writer 302 can be employed togenerate corresponding MIME data from the primitive(s). Thus, RFC 822data can be converted to MIME data by way of employing the MIME reader104 and the MIME writer 302; however, the claimed subject matter is notso limited.

With reference to FIG. 4, illustrated is a system 400 that supportsobtaining a stream of MIME data and/or loading a static file of MIMEdata. The system 400 includes the interface 102 that obtains MIME data.Additionally or alternatively, it is to be appreciated that theinterface 102 can obtain any RFC 822 data. The MIME data can be providedby the interface 102 to the MIME reader 104, which can interpretinformation encoded therein. The MIME reader 104 can include the encodedstructure evaluator 106 that analyzes structural information included inthe MIME data. Further, the MIME reader 104 can include the primitivegeneration component 108 that can yield primitive(s) associated with theMIME data that is analyzed by the encoded structure evaluator 106.

The MIME reader 104 can further include a streaming data component 402that analyzes the MIME data as the MIME data is streamed to the MIMEreader 104 via the interface 102. Accordingly, the streaming datacomponent 402 can support pushing data at the MIME reader 104. Thus, thestreaming data component 402 can be employed in connection withapplications such as an SMTP service that receives an email as chucks ofdata. The streaming data component 402 differs from conventionaltechniques where the full content associated with the MIME data wouldtypically have to be received prior to analyzing the content, yieldingprimitive(s) related to the content, and/or generating a hierarchicalmodel associated with the content (e.g., loading into a document objectmodel).

The MIME reader 104 can further include a static data component 404 thatobtains a static file that comprises the MIME data and subsequentlyanalyzes the MIME data. The static data component 404 supports staticloading of the MIME data. Depending whether the streaming data component402 or the static data component 404 is employed, performance or memorycan be impacted.

Referring to FIG. 5, illustrated is a system 500 that enables convertingdata to and/or from Unicode. The system 500 includes the interface 102that receives MIME data, which can be US-ASCII encoded data. The system500 can additionally include the MIME reader 104, which can furtherinclude the encoded structure evaluator 106 and/or the primitivegeneration component 108. Further, a conversion component 502 canconvert US-ASCII encoded data to Unicode data.

By way of illustration, the interface 102 can obtain a stream of MIMEdata. The stream of MIME data can be provided to the conversioncomponent 502, which can enable converting the MIME data to Unicode. Theconverted data can be analyzed by the MIME reader 104 (and/or theencoded structure evaluator 106 and/or the primitive generationcomponent 108) to generate corresponding primitive(s). According toanother example, the MIME reader 104 (and/or a hierarchical modelgenerator (not shown)) can evaluate received MIME data and generateassociated MIME header object(s). The MIME reader 104 (and/or thehierarchical model generator) can point the conversion component 502 tothe data associated with the MIME header object(s) to enable convertingthe data to Unicode. Pursuant to a further example, the conversioncomponent 502 can allow for converting Unicode data back to US-ASCII,for instance.

In accordance with a further illustration, the MIME reader 104 (and/or ahierarchical model generator) can enable delayed parsing. For instance,delayed parsing can be advantageous when data may yield a failure and/orconsume large amounts of processing resources. By way of example, theMIME reader 104 can allow for separating MIME data into a header, abody, a sub-body part, etc. Thereafter, the MIME header object(s) can befurther parsed (e.g., with the encoded structure evaluator 106, . . . )at a time of evaluation of such object(s). Additionally oralternatively, the MIME reader 104 (and/or the hierarchical modelgenerator) can yield object(s) associated with multiple documentssimultaneously, for example. According to an illustration, the MIMEreader 104 (and/or the hierarchical model generator) can enableconcurrently building multiple document object models corresponding toembedded messages; however, the claimed subject matter is not solimited.

Turning to FIG. 6, illustrated is a system 600 that generates ahierarchical model associated with MIME data. The system 600 includesthe interface 102 that obtains MIME data. Additionally or alternatively,the interface 102 can receive RFC 822 data, which can be interpreted bya normalization component (not shown) (e.g., the normalization component202 of FIG. 2, . . . ). For instance, the interface 102 can receive astream of MIME data and/or enable loading a static file associated withthe MIME data. The interface 102 can additionally provide the MIME datato a hierarchical model generator 602.

The hierarchical model generator 602 interprets the structure encoded inthe MIME data (e.g., text) to build a hierarchical model of thedocument. For instance, each container can be represented as a part thatincludes a group of header objects and either content or a group of subparts. Further, each of the sub parts can in turn include a group ofheader objects and either content or a group of additional sub parts.The hierarchical model generator 602 can include the MIME reader 104 tofacilitate interpreting the MIME data. The hierarchical model generator602, for instance, can utilize primitive(s) generated via the MIMEreader 104 to build a hierarchical model of the MIME data.

The hierarchical model generator 602 can be associated with a librarythat can be written (e.g., completely written, partially written, . . .) in managed code and can provide considerable performance throughput;however, the claimed subject matter is not so limited. The managed codecan be utilized to mitigate programming errors and interoperability.Thus, the programming model can be effectuated across a group oflanguages that conform to the common language runtime (CLR) (e.g.,visual basic, C#, C++, Java, . . . ). It is to be appreciated that thehierarchical model generator 602 (and/or the MIME reader 104 and/or theMIME writer (not shown)) can be an API. The hierarchical model generator602 (and the associated library) can be employed to determine a firstorder validity of the MIME and alter (e.g., fix) some of the content toprovide a consistent interpretation across different applications.

By way of illustration, the hierarchical model generator 602 caninterpret the following:

-   -   Mime-Version: 1.0    -   Subject: This is the subject of this document.    -   Content-type: multipart-mixed;        boundary=“boundary=“fbf75bb6-0e05-46fd-b325-61a565a4f54a”    -   --fbf75bb6-0e05-46fd-b325-61a565a4f54a    -   Content-type: text/plain    -   x-Label: section 1    -   The left and right hand.    -   --fbf75bb6-0e05-46fd-b325-61a565a4f54a    -   Content-type: text/plain    -   x-Label: section 2    -   xyw 1 d21 rel2 ddd dey    -   --fbf75bb6-0e05-46fd-b325-61a565a4f54a    -   Content-type: text/plain    -   x-Label: section 3    -   Widgets and wombats.    -   --fbf75bb6-0e05-46fd-b325-61a565a4f54a-

The hierarchical model generator 602 can yield, for example, a MIMEdocument object instance that can allow a calling program to navigateand/or manipulate the content as objects. Pursuant to the above example,the hierarchical model generator 602 can provide the MimeDocumentillustrated in FIG. 7.

With reference to FIG. 7, the MimeDocument can be a class thatimplements the MIME RFC 2822 compliant parser and holds a resultingDocument Object Model (DOM). The DOM can be an in-memory (cache) treerepresentation of an MIME document and can enable navigation and editingof this document. Moreover, the MIME DOM can include extensibleobject(s). For instance, nested nodes may be added at a later timeand/or new objects (e.g., headers) derived from base class(es) can becorrectly serialized and manipulated; thus, an existing framework can beextended.

There can be two ways to load MIME data into an instance. The firstinvolves instantiating an instance of this class and then calling theLoad method that takes a stream to where the document is loaded from.The alternative can be to write the MIME into a stream returned by theGetLoadStream method. The stream instance returned can support writeonly semantics and can be used to push parts of a MIME source into thelexical parser. The former can be a synchronous atomic method whichresults in a fully formed DOM whereas the latter can allow dynamicparsing and loading as blocks arrive from some source.

The resulting DOM attempts to layer itself on top of the raw data andreference back into the stream for content. By doing so it can allow thememory footprint to be limited to a skeletal representation of thecontent with the bulk of the data safely stored within the sourcestream. The source stream may not exist in the case where the data is“written” into the load stream or if the stream past in to the Load calldoes not support random access. In these cases, the MimeDocument cancreate a temporary stream that does support random access to achieve itsgoal. Additionally, a number of MimeParts can be depicted. Each MimePartor entity can contain a set of headers and either a data section or aset of child parts. As illustrated, inner MimePart objects may include aset of headers, disparate MimePart(s), or data (e.g., a text portion ora payload for an image, . . . ).

With reference to FIG. 8, illustrated is a system 800 that is resistantto flaws or inconsistencies in MIME data. The system 800 includes theinterface 102 that receives static files and/or streams of data relatedto MIME content. The interface 102 provides the MIME data to thehierarchical model generator 602, which can generate a hierarchicalmodel from the MIME data.

The hierarchical model generator 602 can further include the MIME reader104, the MIME writer 302, and a data correction component 802. Unlikeformats such as XML, the tolerance to mistakes, omissions, orcorruptions for MIME can be held to a different standard. Thus, the datacorrection component 802 enables the ability to absorb and offer logicalinterpretation of malformed MIME content (e.g., boundary missing in amulti-part section, invalid wrapping of content to make it compatiblewith SMTP, . . . ). Continuing the above example from FIGS. 6 and 7, ifthe trailing line in the above sample content is missing, then there isno termination sequence for the “third” section and for the outermostwrapper. If this had been an XML document, the entire document would beconsidered invalid. However, the data correction component 802 canenable such content to be corrected.

By way of illustration, the MIME reader 104 can interpret the MIME data.As the MIME data is being interpreted, the data correction component 802can identify corrupted data. Thus, the data correction component 802 canfacilitate remedying the data error in both the hierarchical modelgenerated by the hierarchical model generator 602 as well as the MIMEdata via authoring correct content with the MIME writer 302.

The MIME writer 302 and/or the data correction component 802 canidentify digitally signed content. The system 800 can be employed inconnection with signed and/or encrypted content (e.g., S/MIME content).For example, two disparate types of digitally signed content can exist:clear signed and opaque. If clear signed content is identified, aregular email client can see the client, for instance. Accordingly, ifthere is malformed data in clear signed content, the content should notbe altered since the signature will be broken if changes are made. Thus,the hierarchical model generator 602, MIME reader 104, MIME writer 302and/or data correction component 802 (and/or document object model) canpreserve and not modify content if a clear signed message is detected.Accordingly, the content can be preserved so that the hash of thecontent is still valid.

With reference to FIG. 9, illustrated is a system 900 that enablesevaluating MIME data as it is being pushed at the interface 102. Astream of MIME data can be obtained by the interface 102 and provided tothe hierarchical model generator 602, which can yield a hierarchicalmodel of the MIME data. The hierarchical model generator 602 can includethe MIME reader 104, the streaming data component 402, and/or astreaming evaluation component 902. The MIME reader 104 can interpretstructural information encoded in the MIME data and the streaming datacomponent 402 can enable receiving and/or analyzing a stream of MIMEdata.

As opposed to conventional techniques where the full content typicallyis received prior to loading it into a document object model, the MIMEreader 104 and/or the streaming data component 402 enable building amodel as the MIME data is received and/or analyzed. Thus, the objectmodel can be built simultaneously with the data being obtained (e.g.,via the Internet, . . . ). An outside caller can walk through the modelthat is partially built and/or apply additional logic on top of themodel built by the hierarchical model generator 602.

With large amounts of bogus content, data, and denial of serviceattacks, it is valuable to be able to apply a set of policy decisionsagainst the content and determine if further resources should beexpended. The streaming evaluation component 902 can enable thehierarchical model of the MIME data to be accessed while the data isstill being received allowing for interpretation of the content as soonas possible. Additionally, the streaming evaluation component 902 canenable the parsing section of the API (e.g., MIME reader 706) to applysome restrictions.

For example, the streaming evaluation component 902 can enablecontrolling the following restrictions: the strictness/completeness ofthe MIME; the maximum number of nested parts allowed; the maximum sizeof the data; the maximum number of bytes allowed in what is consideredheaders; the maximum number of distinct parts; the maximum number ofheaders; the maximum number of “addressing” headers (e.g., to, from, . .. ); the maximum number of bytes in one header; and the maximum numberof “parameter” fields on any supported structured header.

With reference to FIG. 10, illustrated is a system 1000 that accumulatesinformation associated with MIME data. The system 1000 includes theinterface 102 that receives MIME data. The interface 102 can provide theMIME data to the hierarchical model generator 602 that includes the MIMEreader 104, which can facilitate analyzing the MIME data.

The hierarchical model generator 602 can additionally include a stateaccumulation component 1002 that can accumulate information as the MIMEdata is parsed (e.g., via the MIME reader 104, the encoded structureevaluator 106, . . . ). The information that is obtained by the stateaccumulation component 1002 can be based on data that has beenidentified and/or altered. For example, the state accumulation component1002 can detect the following: missing multipart MIME boundaries;invalid boundary values (e.g., based on the RFC); invalid line wrapping;incorrect line termination; invalid header; missing separator after agroup of headers; missing boundary parameter; undefined transferencoding; and invalid external links.

The hierarchical model generator 602 can additionally enable theconversion of non-MIME content to MIME content. For instance, this canbe accomplished utilizing a normalization component (e.g., thenormalization component 202 of FIG. 2) and/or a data correctioncomponent (e.g., data correction component 802 of FIG. 8). Prior to thestandardization of MIME, users extended text only email (RFC 822) toencapsulate attachments. Many email clients automatically includedsupport for such attachments. Though invalid as far as the MIME standardis concerned, there is still a need to support non-MIME messagesaccording to this format. Thus, in a MIME document layer and in theprocess of loading the MIME document, the hierarchical model generator602 can convert these messages into a valid MIME format. Thus, theclients can be freed from supporting this behavior.

Headers in MIME can be composed of a header name, a delimiter (e.g.,colon) and a string of characters. A line break can be inserted in thevalue section and continued on the next line by inserting a whitespacecharacter (e.g., tab or space). Additionally, the headers can further bedivided into three general categories as follows.

The first category can be an RFC defined text header. This can includeheaders that can be documented in RFC 2822 and have a well definedmeaning but are considered a string of characters. Within this categorythere can be two subgroups—some of these headers support characters fromother cultures and languages while the other subgroup can be restrictedto US-ASCII.

The second category can be a RFC defined complex header. These headerscan be documented in RFC 2822, and can have well defined meanings.Additionally, these headers can include a string of US-ASCII charactersand a potential list of parameter key/value pairs.

The third category can be a custom/user extension header. This categoryincludes those headers that do not fall into the two other categoriesand include a string of US-ASCII characters. It is to be noted thatbinary content can be made to look like US-ASCII data by applying abase64 encoding to it.

The hierarchical model generator 602 (e.g., API) can provide objects torepresent all of these headers, although some of these headers arehighly specialized to one specific header type. The following chartprovides further examples related to these headers.

Class Name Attributes Type Example Header Abstract Base class for allheaders AsciiTextHeader Derived from RFC defined Mime- Header. US-ASCIIonly Version, headers. Content- Language Custom X-Label HeadersTextHeader Derived from RFC defined Subject Header any language headersAddressHeader Derived from RFC defined To, From, Header Complex CC, BCC,header Reply-To DateHeader Derived from RFC defined Date, Expiry. HeaderComplex header ReceivedHeader Derived from RFC defined Received HeaderComplex header ComplexHeader Derived from RFC defined Header Complexheader that support parameters ContentDispositionHeader Derived from RFCdefined Content- ComplexHeader Complex Disposition headersContentTypeHeader Derived from RFC defined Content-Type ComplexHeaderComplex headers

Turning to FIG. 11, illustrated is a system 1100 that facilitatesinterpreting, manipulating, and/or authoring MIME data. The system 1100can include the interface 102 and the hierarchical model generator 602,which can further include the MIME reader 104, all of which can besubstantially similar to respective components described above. Thesystem 1100 further includes an intelligent component 1102. Theintelligent component 1102 can be utilized by the hierarchical modelgenerator 602 to facilitate generating the hierarchical model of theMIME data. By way of example, the intelligent component 1102 can enablerecognizing and/or correcting MIME data that is analyzed by the MIMEreader 104. Pursuant to a further illustration, the intelligentcomponent 1102 can facilitate parsing MIME data (e.g., with the MIMEreader 104) and/or assembling a document object model based upon theMIME data by evaluating structural aspects associated with the MIMEdata.

It is to be understood that the intelligent component 1102 can providefor reasoning about or infer states of the system, environment, and/oruser from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data.Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, orcan generate a probability distribution over states, for example. Theinference can be probabilistic—that is, the computation of a probabilitydistribution over states of interest based on a consideration of dataand events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed forcomposing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Suchinference results in the construction of new events or actions from aset of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not theevents are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether theevents and data come from one or several event and data sources. Variousclassification (explicitly and/or implicitly trained) schemes and/orsystems (e.g., support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems,Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines . . . ) canbe employed in connection with performing automatic and/or inferredaction in connection with the claimed subject matter.

A classifier is a function that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x1,x2, x3, x4, xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, thatis, f(x)=confidence(class). Such classification can employ aprobabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring intothe analysis utilities and costs) to prognose or infer an action that auser desires to be automatically performed. A support vector machine(SVM) is an example of a classifier that can be employed. The SVMoperates by finding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs,which hypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from thenon-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classificationcorrect for testing data that is near, but not identical to trainingdata. Other directed and undirected model classification approachesinclude, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neuralnetworks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification modelsproviding different patterns of independence can be employed.Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statisticalregression that is utilized to develop models of priority.

A presentation component 1104 can provide various types of userinterfaces to facilitate interaction between a user and any componentcoupled to the hierarchical model generator 602. As depicted, thepresentation component 1104 is a separate entity that can be utilizedwith the hierarchical model generator 602. However, it is to beappreciated that the presentation component 1104 and/or similar viewcomponents can be incorporated into the hierarchical model generator 602and/or a stand-alone unit. The presentation component 1104 can provideone or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs), command line interfaces,and the like. For example, a GUI can be rendered that provides a userwith a region or means to load, import, read, etc., data, and caninclude a region to present the results of such. These regions cancomprise known text and/or graphic regions comprising dialogue boxes,static controls, drop-down-menus, list boxes, pop-up menus, editcontrols, combo boxes, radio buttons, check boxes, push buttons, andgraphic boxes. In addition, utilities to facilitate the presentationsuch vertical and/or horizontal scroll bars for navigation and toolbarbuttons to determine whether a region will be viewable can be employed.For example, the user can interact with one or more of the componentscoupled to the hierarchical model generator 602.

The user can also interact with the regions to select and provideinformation via various devices such as a mouse, a roller ball, akeypad, a keyboard, a pen and/or voice activation, for example.Typically, a mechanism such as a push button or the enter key on thekeyboard can be employed subsequent entering the information in order toinitiate the search. However, it is to be appreciated that the claimedsubject matter is not so limited. For example, merely highlighting acheck box can initiate information conveyance. In another example, acommand line interface can be employed. For example, the command lineinterface can prompt (e.g., via a text message on a display and an audiotone) the user for information via providing a text message. The usercan than provide suitable information, such as alpha-numeric inputcorresponding to an option provided in the interface prompt or an answerto a question posed in the prompt. It is to be appreciated that thecommand line interface can be employed in connection with a GUI and/orAPI. In addition, the command line interface can be employed inconnection with hardware (e.g., video cards) and/or displays (e.g.,black and white, and EGA) with limited graphic support, and/or lowbandwidth communication channels.

With reference to FIGS. 12-15, illustrated are exemplary class diagramsin accordance with various aspects described herein. It is to beappreciated that these examples are provided for illustration purposesand the claimed subject matter is not so limited. FIG. 12 illustratesexemplary classes related to a MIME writer. FIG. 13 depicts exemplaryclasses associated with headers. Referring to FIG. 14, illustrated is anexemplary hierarchical representation of classes related to a MIMEdocument. Additionally, FIG. 15 shows exemplary classes pertaining to aMIME reader.

FIGS. 16-17 illustrate methodologies in accordance with the claimedsubject matter. For simplicity of explanation, the methodologies aredepicted and described as a series of acts. It is to be understood andappreciated that the subject innovation is not limited by the actsillustrated and/or by the order of acts, for example acts can occur invarious orders and/or concurrently, and with other acts not presentedand described herein. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts may berequired to implement the methodologies in accordance with the claimedsubject matter. In addition, those skilled in the art will understandand appreciate that the methodologies can alternatively be representedas a series of interrelated states via a state diagram or events.

With reference to FIG. 16, illustrated is a methodology 1600 thatfacilitates interpreting Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)data. At 1602, MIME data can be received. For instance, a stream of MIMEdata can be obtained. Additionally or alternatively, MIME data can bereceived via loading a static file that includes the MIME data. At 1604,structural information encoded within the obtained MIME data can beidentified. By way of example, the structural information can be relatedto a header, a body, an attachment, and the like. At 1606, primitive(s)corresponding to the MIME data can be generated based on the identifiedencoded structural information. It is to be appreciated that additionalfunctionality can be built upon the primitive(s) that are generated. Forinstance, a hierarchical model (e.g., document object model) can beproduced. Additionally, the output format of a MIME document objectmodel (DOM) can be customized as it is written out (e.g., via utilizinga serialization filter). Conventionally, the message can be serializedin a format that it came in with—the MIME format. However, thecustomization via the filter can provide the ability to plug in to theserialization process and make it produce any format (e.g., XML, IMAP, .. . ).

With reference to FIG. 17, illustrated is a methodology 1700 thatfacilitates normalizing RFC 822 data and/or generating a hierarchicaldocument based upon a document object model. At 1702, RFC 822 data canbe obtained. The RFC 822 data can be, for instance, associated with aformat that differs from a MIME form; however, the claimed subjectmatter is not so limited. At 1704, the RFC 822 data can be convertedinto a normalized MIME form. By way of example, the obtained RFC 822data can be modified by altering an associated structure, syntax,content, and so on.

At 1706, an encoded structure in the normalized data can be analyzed.For example, the normalized data can be parsed (e.g., utilizingstructural aspects related to headers, parts, sub-parts, . . . ). At1708, object(s) can be defined based upon the encoded structure. Forinstance, the object(s) can be related to various headers, parts,sub-parts, etc. Additionally, at 1710, a hierarchical document can begenerated by assembling the object(s) in accordance with a documentobject model. The document object model can be an API that provides alogical structure of the hierarchical document and/or a manner in whichthe hierarchical document can be accessed and/or manipulated. Forinstance, the hierarchical document can have a tree structure and thedocument object model can provide for a manner by which the generateddocument can be navigated (e.g., by traversing from node to node withinthe document, . . . ). Moreover, the object(s) within the document canbe accessed and/or manipulated (e.g., by way of adding, removing,modifying, etc. any of the object(s), . . . ) in accordance with thedocument object model.

In order to provide additional context for implementing various aspectsof the claimed subject matter, FIGS. 18-19 and the following discussionis intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitablecomputing environment in which the various aspects of the subjectinnovation may be implemented. While the claimed subject matter has beendescribed above in the general context of computer-executableinstructions of a computer program that runs on a local computer and/orremote computer, those skilled in the art will recognize that thesubject innovation also may be implemented in combination with otherprogram modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks and/orimplement particular abstract data types.

Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventivemethods may be practiced with other computer system configurations,including single-processor or multi-processor computer systems,minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers,hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based and/or programmableconsumer electronics, and the like, each of which may operativelycommunicate with one or more associated devices. The illustrated aspectsof the claimed subject matter may also be practiced in distributedcomputing environments where certain tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network.However, some, if not all, aspects of the subject innovation may bepracticed on stand-alone computers. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in local and/or remotememory storage devices.

FIG. 18 is a schematic block diagram of a sample-computing environment1800 with which the claimed subject matter can interact. The system 1800includes one or more client(s) 1810. The client(s) 1810 can be hardwareand/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). Thesystem 1800 also includes one or more server(s) 1820. The server(s) 1820can be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computingdevices). The servers 1820 can house threads to perform transformationsby employing the subject innovation, for example.

One possible communication between a client 1810 and a server 1820 canbe in the form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two ormore computer processes. The system 1800 includes a communicationframework 1840 that can be employed to facilitate communications betweenthe client(s) 1810 and the server(s) 1820. The client(s) 1810 areoperably connected to one or more client data store(s) 1850 that can beemployed to store information local to the client(s) 1810.

Similarly, the server(s) 1820 are operably connected to one or moreserver data store(s) 1830 that can be employed to store informationlocal to the servers 1820.

With reference to FIG. 19, an exemplary environment 1900 forimplementing various aspects of the claimed subject matter includes acomputer 1912. The computer 1912 includes a processing unit 1914, asystem memory 1916, and a system bus 1918. The system bus 1918 couplessystem components including, but not limited to, the system memory 1916to the processing unit 1914. The processing unit 1914 can be any ofvarious available processors. Dual microprocessors and othermultiprocessor architectures also can be employed as the processing unit1914.

The system bus 1918 can be any of several types of bus structure(s)including the memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus orexternal bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available busarchitectures including, but not limited to, Industrial StandardArchitecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MSA), Extended ISA(EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB),Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Card Bus, Universal Serial Bus(USB), Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association bus (PCMCIA), Firewire (IEEE 1394), and SmallComputer Systems Interface (SCSI).

The system memory 1916 includes volatile memory 1920 and nonvolatilememory 1922. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basicroutines to transfer information between elements within the computer1912, such as during start-up, is stored in nonvolatile memory 1922. Byway of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory 1922 caninclude read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory 1920 includes random accessmemory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way ofillustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms such asstatic RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), doubledata rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM(SLDRAM), Rambus direct RAM (RDRAM), direct Rambus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM),and Rambus dynamic RAM (RDRAM).

Computer 1912 also includes removable/non-removable,volatile/non-volatile computer storage media. FIG. 19 illustrates, forexample a disk storage 1924. Disk storage 1924 includes, but is notlimited to, devices like a magnetic disk drive, floppy disk drive, tapedrive, Jaz drive, Zip drive, LS-100 drive, flash memory card, or memorystick. In addition, disk storage 1924 can include storage mediaseparately or in combination with other storage media including, but notlimited to, an optical disk drive such as a compact disk ROM device(CD-ROM), CD recordable drive (CD-R Drive), CD rewritable drive (CD-RWDrive) or a digital versatile disk ROM drive (DVD-ROM). To facilitateconnection of the disk storage devices 1924 to the system bus 1918, aremovable or non-removable interface is typically used such as interface1926.

It is to be appreciated that FIG. 19 describes software that acts as anintermediary between users and the basic computer resources described inthe suitable operating environment 1900. Such software includes anoperating system 1928. Operating system 1928, which can be stored ondisk storage 1924, acts to control and allocate resources of thecomputer system 1912. System applications 1930 take advantage of themanagement of resources by operating system 1928 through program modules1932 and program data 1934 stored either in system memory 1916 or ondisk storage 1924. It is to be appreciated that the claimed subjectmatter can be implemented with various operating systems or combinationsof operating systems.

A user enters commands or information into the computer 1912 throughinput device(s) 1936. Input devices 1936 include, but are not limitedto, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touch pad,keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, TVtuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, and thelike. These and other input devices connect to the processing unit 1914through the system bus 1918 via interface port(s) 1938. Interfaceport(s) 1938 include, for example, a serial port, a parallel port, agame port, and a universal serial bus (USB). Output device(s) 1940 usesome of the same type of ports as input device(s) 1936. Thus, forexample, a USB port may be used to provide input to computer 1912, andto output information from computer 1912 to an output device 1940.Output adapter 1942 is provided to illustrate that there are some outputdevices 1940 like monitors, speakers, and printers, among other outputdevices 1940, which require special adapters. The output adapters 1942include, by way of illustration and not limitation, video and soundcards that provide a means of connection between the output device 1940and the system bus 1918. It should be noted that other devices and/orsystems of devices provide both input and output capabilities such asremote computer(s) 1944.

Computer 1912 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer(s)1944. The remote computer(s) 1944 can be a personal computer, a server,a router, a network PC, a workstation, a microprocessor based appliance,a peer device or other common network node and the like, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to computer1912. For purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device 1946 isillustrated with remote computer(s) 1944. Remote computer(s) 1944 islogically connected to computer 1912 through a network interface 1948and then physically connected via communication connection 1950. Networkinterface 1948 encompasses wire and/or wireless communication networkssuch as local-area networks (LAN) and wide-area networks (WAN). LANtechnologies include Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), CopperDistributed Data Interface (CDDI), Ethernet, Token Ring and the like.WAN technologies include, but are not limited to, point-to-point links,circuit switching networks like Integrated Services Digital Networks(ISDN) and variations thereon, packet switching networks, and DigitalSubscriber Lines (DSL).

Communication connection(s) 1950 refers to the hardware/softwareemployed to connect the network interface 1948 to the bus 1918. Whilecommunication connection 1950 is shown for illustrative clarity insidecomputer 1912, it can also be external to computer 1912. Thehardware/software necessary for connection to the network interface 1948includes, for exemplary purposes only, internal and externaltechnologies such as, modems including regular telephone grade modems,cable modems and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and Ethernet cards.

What has been described above includes examples of the subjectinnovation. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the subjectinnovation are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by theabove described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, theterms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurallyequivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function inthe herein illustrated exemplary aspects of the claimed subject matter.In this regard, it will also be recognized that the innovation includesa system as well as a computer-readable medium havingcomputer-executable instructions for performing the acts and/or eventsof the various methods of the claimed subject matter.

In addition, while a particular feature of the subject innovation mayhave been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations,such feature may be combined with one or more other features of theother implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any givenor particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms“includes,” and “including” and variants thereof are used in either thedetailed description or the claims, these terms are intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for converting data having a firstformat to data having a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)format, the method comprising: receiving data in a first format;identifying structural information encoded within the data having thefirst format; analyzing the structural information encoded within thedata having the first format to generate at least one primitive;generating data having a MIME format from the at least one primitive;identifying corrupted generated MIME data; and correcting the identifiedcorrupted generated MIME data.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the atleast one primitive is used to generate a hierarchical model associatedwith the data having the MIME format.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising receiving one or more changes to the hierarchical model; andin response to the one or more changes, altering the data having theMIME format.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data having the firstformat is RFC 822 data.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the structuralinformation encoded with the data having the first format comprises oneor more of: a header, a body, a start of a child message, a subject, andan attachment.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data having thefirst format comprises a stream of RFC 822 data.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein identifying structural information encoded within the datahaving the first format comprises identifying a hierarchical structureassociated with the data having the first format.
 8. A computer-readablestorage device encoding computer executable instructions which, whenexecuted by at least one processor, performs a method for convertingdata having a first format to data having a Multipurpose Internet MailExtensions (MIME) format, the method comprising: receiving data in afirst format; identifying structural information encoded within the datahaving the first format; analyzing the structural information encodedwithin the data having the first format to generate at least oneprimitive; and generating data having a MIME format from the at leastone primitive; identifying corrupted generated MIME data; and correctingthe identified corrupted generated MIME data.
 9. The computer-readablestorage device of claim 8, wherein the at least one primitive is used togenerate a hierarchical model associated with the data having the MIMEformat.
 10. The computer-readable storage device of claim 9, furthercomprising instructions for receiving one or more changes to thehierarchical model; and in response to the one or more changes, alteringthe data having the MIME format.
 11. The computer-readable storagedevice of claim 8, wherein the data having the first format is RFC 822data.
 12. The computer-readable storage device of claim 8, wherein thestructural information encoded with the data having the first formatcomprises one or more of: a header, a body, a start of a child message,a subject, and an attachment.
 13. The computer-readable storage deviceof claim 8, wherein the data having the first format comprises a streamof RFC 822 data.
 14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 8,wherein identifying structural information encoded within the datahaving the first format comprises identifying a hierarchical structureassociated with the data having the first format.
 15. A method forconverting data having a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)format to a having a second format, the method comprising: receivingdata in a MIME format; identifying structural information encoded withinthe data having the MIME format, wherein identifying structuralinformation includes identifying corrupted data having the MIME formatand correcting the identified corrupted data; analyzing the structuralinformation encoded within the data having the MIME format to generateat least one primitive; and generating data having a second format fromthe at least one primitive.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the atleast one primitive is generated from a hierarchical model associatedwith the data having the second format.
 17. The method of claim 16,further comprising: receiving one or more changes to the hierarchicalmodel; and in response to the one or more changes, altering the datahaving the MIME format.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the datahaving the second format is RFC 822 data.
 19. The method of claim 15,wherein the structural information encoded with the data having the MIMEformat comprises one or more of: a header, a body, a start of a childmessage, a subject, and an attachment.
 20. The method of claim 15,wherein identifying structural information encoded within the datahaving the MIME format comprises identifying a hierarchical structureassociated with the data having the MIME format.